Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is looking forward to returning to action after admittedly enduring a frustrating three months on the injury sidelines, saying he was relishing the opportunity to visit India and then Australia over the coming two months.
South Africa left for a six-match tour to India on Friday, where they will face the hosts in three Twenty20 Internationals and three one-day internationals. They will then head to Australia for the T20 World Cup, which runs from October 16 to November 13.
Bavuma and the rest of his team spent the last few days before leaving the country in Cape Town, doing some team building together. The skipper has been out since picking up an elbow injury in June, a blow that forced him to miss the Proteas’ multi-format tour to the UK.
But he is now back and ready to lead the team, saying their immediate objective is to get everyone firing for the World Cup, where they are scheduled to face India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and two yet-to-be-determined teams in Group 2.
“We want to get the guys into form, most of them have been in form but guys like me, I’ve been out of action for the past three months, so now I’m looking forward to that,” Bavuma said at his departure press conference.
“Personally, I just want to be out there on the park and using that opportunity to get game time, to get runs behind me and to get my confidence back.
“There may be other guys as well not yet in the right form, so it’s about getting them to where they need to be at. We also need to finalise that final XI. We have a good idea of what that team will look like, but also considering the fact that conditions in India are different to those in Australia. So, the side we probably play in Australia won’t necessarily be the one in India.”
The skipper also spoke about his injury. “It was definitely frustrating. Going through that period not really knowing when I was going to recover was quite difficult mentally. But I’m here now, my elbow feels good, I obviously opted against the surgery, but I’m excited and blessed to have the opportunity again to run out there for the Proteas.” – Cricket SA.
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